The High Court scrapped a letter of BTRC which asked Grameenphone (GP) to pay Tk 30crore in fine for providing unauthorised services to the customers.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to issue a fresh letter within four months following due rules and procedure. The HC also ordered BTRC to assess the loss incurred to the government due to unauthorised services provided by the GP. BTRC will have to take the assistance of Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh in the assessment of the loss.
A division bench comprising Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir Liton passed the order on Sunday following a writ petition filed by the GP.In October 2016, BTRC slapped a Tk 30 crore fine on GP for providing internet broadband service to clients breaching the Telecommunications Act 2001.
The penalty is related to Grameenphone’s “Go Broadband” initiative, a high-speed internet service offered by Agni Systems and ADN Telecom in partnership with the operator. The network solutions were provided to Sonali Bank.
The BTRC came up with the action against GP as Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) filed a complaint on February 28, 2016.
Earlier, on January 26, 2017, BTRC rejected GP petition for revising the fine of Taka 30 crore. The regulator has also directed the country’s leading operator to deposit the fine of Tk 30 crore to the national exchequer within 10 days, otherwise, legal action would be taken.